Isle of Man Assisted Dying Law Faces Further Delay Amid Safeguarding Concerns
The Isle of Man's pioneering assisted dying legislation has encountered another significant delay after the UK Government intervened, citing concerns over legal vulnerabilities and insufficient protections for vulnerable individuals. This development occurs precisely one week before similar proposed legislation at Westminster is anticipated to fail, highlighting ongoing debates across the British Isles.
Royal Assent Withheld Over Safeguard Issues
As a Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man requires royal assent from the UK Government for primary legislation to become formal law. The Lord Chancellor, currently David Lammy, must recommend this assent. However, the Ministry of Justice has declined to grant it at this stage, arguing that key safeguards, particularly regarding coercion, are not explicitly written into the Bill.
The Isle of Man government stated, "It is therefore the UK Government's view that these matters must be addressed directly on the face of the Bill to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights." This decision follows the Tynwald's historic approval of the Bill in March 2025, making it the first parliament in the British Isles to pass assisted dying legislation.
Disappointment and Proposed Amendments
Alex Allinson, the Member of the House of Keys and a GP who introduced the Bill, expressed disappointment at the delay. He told the Press Association, "I regret that the Ministry of Justice has waited a year to get this back to us; it would have been an awful lot easier to have done it last year." Allinson explained that the safeguards in question were intended to be implemented through codes of practice for medical professionals after the Bill became law, but they will now be added directly to the legislation.
He aims to bring amendments to Tynwald "in the very near future" to address the UK Government's feedback, hoping to resubmit the Bill to the MoJ before July. The amendments are expected to include three new clauses covering:
- Safeguarding vulnerable adults, making it a statutory responsibility for staff to refer concerns to the Isle of Man's independent safeguarding board.
- Heightened scrutiny for cases involving individuals with disabilities, such as communication difficulties.
- Enhanced oversight in situations with evidence of family conflict or disagreement over the decision to apply for an assisted death.
Allinson emphasized, "These are technical amendments to make sure that all the safeguards that Tynwald have already agreed are at the forefront of the Bill... to make absolutely certain that the Bill is as safe as possible and complies with the best standards of international human rights law." Once royal assent is granted, the implementation period for an assisted dying service on the Isle of Man could take up to two years.
Westminster Context and Broader Implications
This delay coincides with the expected failure of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at Westminster, scheduled for its final debate in the House of Lords next Friday. That Bill, which proposed allowing adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, has progressed further than any similar legislation in Parliament but is likely to fall due to time constraints and a record number of amendments.
Supporters of legal change have accused unelected peers of blocking the Bill, while Lords members defend their scrutiny as necessary to ensure safety. Elsewhere, Jersey's States Assembly passed its draft Assisted Dying Law in February 2026, also awaiting royal assent as a Crown Dependency.
Freedom of information requests revealed that between March 2025 and early December 2025, the MoJ communicated with the Isle of Man government about the legislation twelve times, underscoring the complexity of the process. The MoJ has not provided further comment on the matter.
